Jay, here.

A couple of weeks ago, a thread (”DuckD’s In-Depth Pre-Spring Depth Chart”) from one of the eDuck message boards came across my desk here at Duck Sports News and caught my attention.

So, I decided to shoot an email to DuckD to see I could share his analysis with other Duck fans through Duck Sports News. Upon completing his preview, he was more than happy to email his entire entry (Thank you, DuckD).

Instead of publishing the entire entry here, I’ve decided to break it up into more bite-size parts over the course of several days. Here’s a look at the schedule:

Offense
Friday, March 21st: Quarterback
Saturday, March 22nd: Running Back
Sunday, March 23rd: Wide Receiver
Monday, March 24th: Tight End, Half Back
Tuesday, March 25th: Offensive Line

Defense
Wednesday, March 26th: Defensive End
Thursday, March 27th: Defensive Tackle
Friday, March 28th: Linebacker
Saturday, March 29th: Cornerback
Sunday, March 30th: Safety

Here’s DuckD’s preview of the Wide Receiver position:

DuckD’s Spring Preview: WIDE RECEIVER

Probable Starter: Jaison Williams sr., Derrick Jones jr., Jeffrey Maehl so.
Depth: Drew Davis so., Jamere Holland so., Terence Scott sr., Aaron Pflugrad so.
Incoming: Ellis Krout jr., Blake Cantu fr., Dion Jordan fr., Garrett Embry fr.

Analysis: Jaison, Jaison, Jaison… If he can pull a Dixon and gain some confidence/consistency for his senior season, I can honestly say that it is entirely possible that he could win the Belitnikoff Award this fall. His size and speed are such a freakish combination that just about anything is possible for J-Will if he can improve upon the mental aspect of the game. Here’s hoping he can put it all together for a season we will all remember for a long, long time.
Jones is a burner, pure and simple. The main issue with Derrick is his commitment to staying out of the doghouse by doing everything that is required of him, and it might not hurt if he stuck around this summer to work out with the rest of his teammates. With Derrick’s mostly off-field issues of the past year, I have to feel that he is walking a pretty thin rope right now. If he can get his head on straight, he has enormous potential on the field. He could make a huge impact at WR as well as in the return game.

Maehl was damn near remarkable last fall. He came in as a true freshman, gained a spot in the rotation at free safety (accumulating 14 tackles including 1 for loss), and then gets switched to WR where he wound up starting (and caught 9 balls for 118 yards and 1 TD, as well as gaining 34 yards on 3 rushing plays). He also showed outstanding hands, getting absolutely drilled against 0S(U) while making the catch. Not only making the catch, but then hopping up and jumping around excitedly as if he hadn’t even been touched! Also doesn’t hurt that he scored a TD against the Beavers. Maehl is going to be very difficult to keep off the field, regardless of if he stays on offense or if he goes back to defense. And either way he is going to be great.

Davis, I think, is poised to make a big push for a starting spot this year. He has a great combination of size, speed, hands, and ability. He didn’t see the field much last year, but that was more due to the extraordinary talents of J-Will and the solid blocking and all-around game of Garren Strong, than the lack of his own ability. Davis will be a solid contributor at the very least this fall.

Jamere Holland will finally get an opportunity to show what he can do this spring and fall. He has been working out with the guys and gaining knowledge of the system. Like Jones, he has outstanding speed. Will be interesting to see how willing a blocker he is and how he handles crossing routes, as well as possibly being a runner on option plays. Massive potential with Holland.

Scott had the “misfortune” of being a true team player last fall. Set to redshirt, he was called upon later in the year due to the injuries at WR thus burning his redshirt year. He only caught 2 balls for 4 yards while reportedly battling his own injury issues, but that is not remotely indicative of the talent that this young man possesses. He looked like a big-play waiting to happen last fall in practices. He has excellent speed and should, like many of the WR, make a push for a starting spot this spring and fall.

Aaron Pflugrad (PFLU!) reminds me a lot of Keenan Howry. Unlike Howry, I think he’s going to have his work cut out for him to gain a starting role but he should be a very solid role player with his terrific hands and excellent route running abilities. You can never have too many guys that can get open and make the clutch catch for the first down!
Ellis Krout is a JC transfer that I honestly know almost zero about. I know that he has good size (6′4″ 190) and reportedly has great speed. I hope that he’s here for spring ball, but I haven’t even heard if he’ll be here for spring or not.

Blake Cantu seems, on film, to be a bigger, faster version of Pflugrad. He runs solid routes, has great hands, and even played in a spread offense in high school so he already has some familiarity with the style. You can never have too many guys that can get open and make the clutch catch for the first down!

Dion Jordan will get tried out at WR first. There is a chance, down the line, that he may be moved to TE/HB, but I like the idea of him at WR. He has great size at 6′6″ 215, and decent speed (4.6). He is reportedly a great (and willing) blocker which will really help him see the field early for us. We need WR who can block in order to get the most effectiveness from the running game in the spread. He could be a great redzone weapon with his size, athleticism, and hands.

Garrett Embry is an intriguing prospect. Initially recruited as a potential safety, he exploded at WR as a senior and really seems to have a lot of potential at the position. Has a great physicality about him, though he will need to work on his speed to get the most of his talents. He has potentially the highest ceiling of this years recruiting class.

Tomorrow: TIGHT END, HALF BACK

Tags: Ducks, Football, oregon, Practice, Spring